Novak Djokovic was involved in a fiery exchange with a spectator during his second round match against home favourite Alexei Popyrin at the Australian Open on Wednesday.
The incident occurred at 2-2 in the fourth set shortly after Djokovic had taken the third on a tie-break to move into a two sets to one lead. Walking to the back of the court, the Serbian superstar looked up into the crowd and got into an animated conversation with a heckler, repeatedly telling them to ‘come say that to my face’.
The exchange continued for several seconds before Djokovic eventually turned his back to refocus on the match, as he tried to keep his cool after being irked by the fans’ behaviour.
That moment appeared to inspire him as Djokovic immediately upped his level to take the fourth set 6-3 and book his place in the last 32 in Melbourne. But he was angry with the reaction of the crowd during the match as they tried to inspire Popyrin to an upset win, and slammed their conduct in a post-match interview.
When asked what he had made of the partisan Melbourne Park crowd, Djokovic responded: ‘Not the best atmosphere to play in, to be honest. People basically made noise between the first and second serve the entire match.
‘What really frustrated me is when somebody heckles me in the crowd. I told him to say it to my face but there was an absence of courage in that moment.’
Former Wimbledon finalist Nick Kyrgios was on commentary for Eurosport for the match as he remains sidelined due to injury, and he accused the heckler of ‘poking the bear’.
Credit: dailymail.co.uk
